Tiawan Mullen Becomes First Indiana CB to Earn First-Team All-American Honors

Tiawan Mullen is second on the Hoosiers with eight career takeaways through two years.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Tiawan Mullen has made history for Indiana football.

After being left off the Associated Press All-American team, Mullen earned first-team All-America honors from the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), which were announced Wednesday.

Mullen becomes the first Indiana cornerback in program history to earn these honors.

Below is the full press release from Indiana football:

Indiana sophomore Tiawan Mullen became the first cornerback in program history to earn first-team All-America honors, it was announced by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) on Wednesday afternoon. The FWAA released its 2020 All-America Team, presented in partnership with the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic.

Mullen is just the second cornerback (Tim Wilbur, 1980 second-teamer) in school history to achieve All-America status and is the first Hoosier since offensive lineman Dan Feeney (2015, 2016) to collect first-team recognition.

With senior wide receiver Ty Fryfogle and junior linebacker Micah McFadden receiving third-team All-America laurels from the Associated Press earlier this week, IU has three All-Americans for the first time since 2007 (wide receiver James Hardy – second team, defensive end Greg Middleton – second team, kicker Austin Starr – second team).

The Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic is presenting the All-America Team as part of what has been a season-long campaign to promote the 76-year history of this prestigious honor. Each All-American will receive a commemorative football and the first-team selections will be presented with a custom All-America watch.

"Serving in the role of presenting sponsor of the FWAA's prestigious All-America team is the perfect for the both of us," said Bry Patton, the chairman of the Cotton Bowl Athletic Association and Cotton Bowl Foundation. "The Goodyear Cotton Bowl and the nation's writers and broadcasters have shared a lot of special moments over eight decades. We are proud of this relationship and look forward to doing our part in promoting these deserving student-athletes."

Upon the conclusion of the 2020 regular season, Mullen became the program's first cornerback to card first-team All-Big Ten honors since Tracy Porter in 2007.

He is second on the team with 36 tackles, 25 solos (tied) and 4.5 for loss (tied), and third with three interceptions (T-6th in the Big Ten, T-27th nationally), 3.5 sacks (T-12th) and four pass breakups (T-14th) in addition to one forced fumble. Mullen leads all B1G defensive back in sacks and TFLs.

The Fort Lauderdale, Fla., native is second on the Hoosiers to safety Jamar Johnson (9) with eight career takeaways (3 INT, 3 FF, 2 FR).

Mullen matched a career-high with eight stops, one for loss, in the season-opening victory over No. 8 Penn State and delivered seven tackles, five solo, with 2.5 sacks, the first of his career, in the win at Rutgers.

In the victory at Michigan State, he recorded the first two picks of his career, the first Hoosier with a multi-INT game since Jonathan Crawford vs. Purdue on Nov. 26, 2016, and he recorded his third interception in the win over Maryland.

A 247Sports True Freshman All-American and The Athletic Freshman All-American, Mullen not only paced the conference, he finished second among freshmen nationally and shared 11th in the country with 13 breakups in 2019.

His brother, Trayvon, played cornerback at Clemson University (2016-18) and is a member of the Las Vegas Raiders, and his cousin (mother's side), Lamar Jackson, played at Louisville (2015-17) and is the Baltimore Ravens quarterback.

Since 1945, the FWAA team has been among the five used in the NCAA's selection of an annual consensus All-America team in college football. Since the 2002 season, the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), The Associated Press, The Sporting News and the Walter Camp Football Foundation have joined the FWAA as the five designated selectors by the NCAA.

The FWAA All-America Team was first selected in 1944, three years after the organization was formed. The FWAA's inaugural team included Army's Heisman Trophy tandem of Doc Blanchard and Glenn Davis and Georgia Tech's Frank Broyles, who later became Arkansas' head football coach and athletic director.

Over the years, the FWAA team has highlighted all the game's great players in several media forums. From 1946-70, LOOK magazine published the FWAA team and brought players and selected writers to New York City for a celebration. During that 25-year period, the FWAA team was introduced on national television shows by such noted hosts as Bob Hope, Steve Allen and Perry Como.

After LOOK folded, the FWAA started a long association with NCAA Films (later known as NCAA Productions), which produced a 30-minute television program. The team was part of ABC-TV's 1981 College Football Series. From 1983-90, the team was introduced on either ABC or ESPN. In 2002 and '03, the All-America team was honored with a banquet at the Citrus Bowl.

The same bowl also was a sponsor when the team was featured on ABC and ESPN from different locations on Disney properties from 2004-07. From 2008-10, the team had been the subject of a one-hour ESPN special.

For seven decades the FWAA has selected an All-America team with the help of its members and an All-America Committee, which represents all the regions in the country. From that All-America team, the FWAA also selects the Outland Trophy winner (best interior lineman) and the Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner (best defensive player).

Some of the true greats of the writing profession have helped to select this team over the years: Grantland Rice, Bert McGrane, Blackie Sherrod, Furman Bisher, Pat Harmon, Fred Russell, Edwin Pope, Murray Olderman, Paul Zimmerman – and the list goes on and on. The FWAA All-America team is steeped in tradition and history and is selected by a writers' group with those same attributes.

The Football Writers Association of America, a non-profit organization founded in 1941, consists of more than 1,400 men and women who cover college football. The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas that include game day operations, major awards and its annual All-America team. For more information about the FWAA and its award programs, contact Steve Richardson at tiger@fwaa.com or call 214-870-6516.

2020 FWAA All-America Committee: Andrea Adelson, ESPN.com; Kirk Bohls, Austin American-Statesman; Travis Brown, Bryan-College Station Eagle; Ken Capps, TexasFootball.com; Brett Cianci, Pick Six Previews; Scott Dochterman, The Athletic; Scott Farrell, collegepressbox.com; Bryan Fischer, Athlon Sports; Clay Henry, Hawgs Illustrated; John Hoover, SI Now: All Sooners; Adam Hunsucker, Monroe News-Star; Shehan Jeyarajah, Dave Campbell's Texas Football; Barrett Jones, ESPN; Doug Lesmerises, Cleveland.com; Nate Mink, Syracuse.com; Tony Siracusa, Last Word on College Football; Phil Steele, Phil Steele Publications; David Ubben, The Athletic; Chris Vannini, The Athletic; John Wagner, Toledo Blade (retired).